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Female fans normally know more facts about what’s going on than men do anyway. I’d say they’re a more intelligent fan on top of that. They normally know more about what we’ve done than we know about what we’ve done. --- Tony Stewart

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There are female fans who take apart engines and will take you apart if you have a problem with that; who are drawn to the danger and mystery of the sport; who watch races on TV to witness pure passion and unscripted emotion; who love the camaraderie of these family-friendly festivals; who feel the nervous anxiety of the lip-biting wives atop the pit boxes. --- Andrew Giangola “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 24, 2012) - JR Motorsports
announced today it has reached an agreement with Regan Smith to drive
the team’s No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide Series entry full time in 2013.
General Manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said Smith will make his JRM
debut this year, as the company will field three teams for the Nov. 17
race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Smith will join teammates Cole Whitt
and Danica Patrick in the season finale.

“This is an extremely good opportunity for me,” Smith said. “Dale Jr.
and I first started talking about this several years ago, but the timing
never matched up to where we could make it happen. Now it’s time. I’m
happy to be a part of this organization. I don’t want to just win races.
I want to be the team that dominates races and contends for the
championship.”

Smith, a 29-year-old native of Cato, N.Y., has competed in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series since 2002 and Sprint
Cup Series since 2007. He was crowned Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the
Year in 2008, but it was 2011 when he made his biggest splash. Driving
the No. 78 Chevrolet, Smith held off Carl Edwards in a thrilling finish
to win the prestigious Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The popular
victory was Smith’s first in NASCAR competition and was part of a
storybook season that included two top-fives, five top-10s and 36 laps
led. Smith has not competed in the Nationwide Series since 2007 when he
tallied three top-fives, five top-10s, and a pole award at Kentucky
Speedway.

“Regan has always impressed me,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He gets the
most of his car, no matter what he’s driving or who he’s driving for. He
takes care of his cars and gets good finishes. With his experience and
ability, we feel he can excel in our equipment. He has a super
personality, and his ability to work with everyone here at JR
Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports will be important in getting us
back to the winner’s circle.”

Smith’s No. 5 Chevrolet, to date, is the only JRM entry cemented for a
full-season slate in 2013. Earnhardt Miller said the goal of the
organization is still to run two full-time teams – the No. 5 and No. 7 –
with addition to Earnhardt Jr. competing in select Nationwide Series
races in the No. 88 car.
“We feel it is important for our sponsors, our fans, and even Dale to
keep his Nationwide Series number consistent with his Cup number,”
Earnhardt Miller said. “His brand is associated with the No. 88. That’s
what makes him distinguishable on the race track, so it’s only natural
that he drives the No. 88 all the time. To do that, we are making our
No. 5 Chevrolet our full-time entry. We hope to have Cole in the No. 7
full time in 2013, and we are working hard on securing sponsorship for
that.”

Smith recently was thrust into the spotlight as the driver chosen to
fill the seat of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet
for Hendrick Motorsports while Earnhardt Jr. healed from a concussion.
In Earnhardt Jr.’s absence, Smith competed in two Sprint Cup races in
the No. 88 Chevy, most recently scoring a seventh-place finish at Kansas
Speedway this past Sunday. Smith had recorded his season-best finish of
fifth two weeks earlier at Talladega Superspeedway for Furniture Row
Racing.

“It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for me, but it’s been great,”
Smith said. “Filling in for Dale Jr. was an honor, and it got me
acclimated to the Hendrick Motorsports group, which obviously JR
Motorsports works with hand in hand. I was glad to fill in for Dale Jr.,
and I’m happy that he’s back in his race car this week at
Martinsville.”